Hand Hygiene

- Introduction

Hands are a primary source of infection transmission in all community, health care settings and residential contexts, as well as in industrial settings like the food sector. So, it is impossible to undervalue the significance of hand cleanliness in the prevention of infection.
Even though hand hygiene has received more attention in the medical literature, there are still a lot of unanswered and unresolved inquiries and questions.
Hand hygiene is the cornerstone of most of the infection prevention and control (IPC) programs since it is recognized as the single most significant way to stop the spread of infection.
Promoting good hand hygiene is essential for both staff and patient safety. HCWs must be knowledgeable about hand hygiene guidelines and continuously follow them for patient safety and infection prevention and control strategies to be effective.
HCWs still generally have poor compliance with hand hygiene regulations, despite that many countries have established or adopted hand hygiene guidelines. For infection preventionist in all healthcare settings, improving hand hygiene is still a struggle and ongoing challenge.
Lack of knowledge, increased demands with less time, dry and irritated hands, lack of soap and paper towels, inaccessible sinks, lack of sinks, forgetfulness, doubting the benefits of handwashing, absence of role models, lack of administrative priority for hand hygiene, and absence of administrative sanctions are some of the factors contributing to poor adherence and compliance.
HCWs use alcohol-based hand sanitizers for the past 20 years. Alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR) should be used preferentially, and in all healthcare, facilities should monitor and improve hand hygiene, according to the World Health Organization's (WHO) 2009 hand hygiene guidelines.
The current standard for regular hand hygiene in healthcare settings is to use alcohol-based, waterless hand rubs, unless the hands are obviously dirty. Facilities should supply an easily accessible alcohol-based hand sanitizer product to HCWs, according to guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and WHO.